Ford to spend $2.5 bln on new Mexico engine, transmission operations

MEXICO CITY, April 17 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on
Friday will spend $2.5 billion to build a new generation of
fuel-efficient engines and transmissions in Mexico, creating
3,800 jobs.

Ford said it will build a new engine facility within
its engine plant in the northern state of Chihuahua. The
facility will build a new gasoline engine that will be exported
to the United States, Canada, South America and the Asia-Pacific
region.

Production of Ford's I-4 and diesel engines at the Chihuahua
plant will also be expanded, making it the biggest engine plant
in Mexico.

The company said it will also build a transmission plant in
the central state of Guanajuato, in partnership with German
transmission maker Getrag.

Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the
Guanajuato plant would have the capacity to produce up to
800,000 units per year.

Ford's announcement, confirming an earlier Reuters report,
is the latest in a recent series of auto investments in Mexico,
as carmakers are drawn to the country's cheap labor, free trade
agreements, and proximity to the United States.

Earlier this week, Toyota announced it would spend
$1 billion for its first passenger car plant in Mexico, and last
month, Volkswagen also said it would invest $1
billion to expand its plant in Mexico's Puebla
state.
(Reporting by Luis Rojas; Editing by Peter Galloway)